Be Fruitful and Flourish
Steve Shaffer, Director of Coaching, Discipleship and Operations
I grew up listening to the drumbeat pounding the message that the world is evil and dangerous and our focus should be on escaping this world for a spiritual paradise. I have come to believe Scripture paints a much different picture that tells a different story about God and his relationship to creation and our life in the here and now.
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible describes a God deeply invested in this world. When God looked at his creation and called it “very good,” it wasn’t a passing comment. When God says, “Be fruitful and multiply,” in the context of Genesis it takes on thematic force. It is a vision for abundant, fruitful goodness. The Hebrew concept of shalom captures this vision well. More than personal peace, it encompasses humanity living in right relationship with God, each other, and the earth. This is the picture of wholeness, integrity, with everything functioning as designed.
Sin, as a systemic distortion embedded in human culture and institutions, has bent that vision. But the biblical story insists it hasn’t destroyed it. Even Israel’s ancient Law reflects this broad concern by insisting on protections for widows, orphans, immigrants and mandatory rest for farmland. The Jubilee system that periodically cancelled debt and redistributed land provides a structural check against compounding inequality. Jesus’ ministry also reflects God’s concern for his creation: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” Luke 4:18
Through it all God is continually working to undo the distortions, to right systemic injustice, to defend the cause of those with no voice and little power. He has invited his church into that work, to see the world as good and to labor against the distortions. Our pursuit as God’s partners is to pursue the well being, the shalom, the flourishing of life here and now. Human flourishing, we believe, is the Gospel-end that God seeks: humanity living in harmony with creation, with one another and with God.